Report Prepared by: Mike Conway, Assistant to the City Manager
Title
SUBJECT: Consider Locating All Wheels/Skate Park in McNamara Community Park and Adopting the Memorandum of Understanding
REPORT IN BRIEF
Consider locating an All Wheels/Skate Park in McNamara Community Park.
RECOMMENDATION
City Council - Adopt a motion approving the selection of McNamara Community Park for an All Wheels/Skate Park and adopting the Memorandum of Understanding.
Body
ALTERNATIVES
1. Approve, as recommended by staff; or,
2. Approve, subject to other than recommended by staff (identify specific findings and/or conditions amended to be addressed in the motion); or,
3. Deny; or,
4. Refer to staff for reconsideration of specific items (specific items to be addressed in the motion); or,
5. Continue to a future meeting (date and time to be specified in the motion).
AUTHORITY
Charter of the City of Merced, Section 200.
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES
As it applies to Youth Programs
DISCUSSION
The California Endowment/Building Healthy Communities Merced is requesting permission to construct an All Wheels/Skate Park in McNamara Community Park. The facility would be used by skateboarders, skaters, bike riders and others on wheels, as has been successfully done in parks throughout the state. The location proposed is an underutilized basketball court along Canal Street near the McNamara Youth Center, not the court near the parking lot on K Street. The Endowment expects to spend approximately $300,000 on the park, and in exchange the City would maintain it.
The Endowment considered several sites in South Merced for the All Wheels Park, but the McNamara site ranked highest in the selection process. There were two community meetings held and the location received favorable support among community members. The Recreation and Parks Commission unanimously voted to recommend the City Council select the McNamara site for the All Wheels Park during its August 28, 2017 meeting.
The item came before the City Council at its September 18, 2017 meeting. Council had questions about the contract language that limited discussion about the all wheels/skatepark without prior approval from Merced BHC. That language has been modified.
Council also had questions about naming the all wheels/skatepark Merced Building Healthy Communities All Wheels Park without going through the City’s facilities naming process. Representatives from the Endowment have said they have revised the request and are asking instead to have “Merced BHC” etched into the concrete, along with “Mickey ears” to represent their corporate sponsor in return for their donation. Discussions with the City Attorney’s Office indicates this does not fall within the City’s Administrative Policy A-20, “Procedures for Naming City Parks, Recreation Areas, and Facilities and Redevelopment Agency Facilities,” so there is not a need to go through the facility naming process.
Council also directed staff to conduct a community meeting under the leadership of City staff. A meeting was held Tuesday, October 24, 2017, at 6 p.m. in the McNamara Youth Center. The meeting was advertised via social media, with fliers, news releases, and ABC30 did a short piece promoting the meeting. About 45 people attended the meeting and heard a presentation on the project. There was discussion about moving the site to different locations within the park - the other basketball court, the parking lot, the grass soccer field - and the merits and disadvantages were pointed out. Directors of the McNamara Youth Center were concerned because they use the basketball court that is adjacent to their facility for play activities. In the end, the vast majority of the group agreed that the suggested site was the best location for the all wheels/skatepark. There was a vote conducted at the end of the meeting and all but one person favored the suggested location, with the lone vote being a “maybe.”
Based on comments and concerns raised, staff will require the designers to install conduit in the facility for potential lighting should the need, desire or funding for lighting occur. There also will be a gate to the grass all-purpose/soccer field installed closer to the McNamara Youth Center to facilitate access to the play field by the center participants.
Once the park site is selected staff will work with the Endowment to finish design of the park and construction details. The Endowment plans to solicit comments from youth and park users on design elements of the park. The Merced Police Department was consulted early in the process and they expressed a preference for a park that would be at or above ground so that officers would have easy visibility during patrols.
The facility designer has said it was possible that the park could be built in approximately 90 days after work began.
IMPACT ON CITY RESOURCES
No appropriation of funds is needed.
ATTACHMENTS
1. All Wheels Park Contract